CAPITAL DJ Aimee Vivian has shared the traumatic ordeal that almost killed her weeks after giving birth.
The host, 34, bravely shared the terrifying moment she was hospitalised with .
Capital radio host Aimee Vivian reveals she almost died after giving birthCredit: Instagram / @aimeevivian
The mum was diagnosed with sepsis after getting mastitisCredit: Instagram / @aimeevivian
to her daughter in June this year, but just a few weeks later was sent to the hospital herself.
The new mum explained that she had been experiencing mastitis – where your breast becomes swollen, hot and painful. It is most common in women.
But it later turned into sepsis, a life-threatening condition caused by the body’s overwhelming response to an infection.
Speaking on the Made By Mammas podcast, Aimee revealed she had faced trolling online after going back to work after giving birth.
Aimee said: “If we don’t work we don’t get paid.
“We saved as hard as we could, but unfortunately, I didn’t find a tree so i had to go back and I had a pretty tough time the four months after giving birth to Charlie.”
“The critical comments are hard.”
And to make matters even worse, Aimee was diagnosed with mastitis just three and a half weeks after giving birth.
She went to the doctor and had all the classic symptoms, shivers, headache, redness and was told all she had to do was keep breastfeeding.
Aimee revealed her daughter had a tongue-tie, which meant she had to pump and bottle feed.
The mum’s social media post saved her lifeCredit: Instagram / @aimeevivian Aimee begged the doctor to prescribe , sure she had mastitis, but was told to hold off taking them for a few more days to see if symptoms cleared on their own.
By Sunday, Aimee revealed it was ‘excruciatingly painful.’
She added: “I’m not a crier, but by this point, I was in tears.”
Aimee and her husband attempted to relieve the pressure but grew concerned when they saw pus in her milk because it was so infected.
What is mastitis?
Mastitis is a condition which causes a woman’s breast tissue to become inflamed and painful.
It’s most common in breastfeeding mums, in the first three months after giving birth.
In breastfeeding women, it’s often caused by a build-up of milk – because the baby is having problems latching on.
Symptoms include:
- A red, swollen area which feels hot and painful to touch
- A breast lump or area of hardness
- A burning pain which is either continuous or only occurs during breastfeeding
- Nipple discharge – which may be white or contain streaks of blood
- Flu-like symptoms – including aches, a fever, chills and tiredness.
If you have these symptoms, speak to your GP straight away.
Sepsis is a serious complication of an infection, which can lead to multiple organ failure and even death if left untreated.
Concerned, Aimee took to social media to ask for help and a midwife who was with her when she was pregnant reached out and urged her to go straight to hospital.
“I went thinking ‘God, I feel horrendous,’ but I was thinking they would tell me to take some stronger antibiotics,” she explains.
“Within two hours, I was on a ward hooked up to a drip and they said your infection markers are up really high, later that evening they said you’ve got sepsis.”
Aimee was in hospital for five days, she added: I begged for my life that day, I thought I was going to die.”
The mum revealed that if she hadn’t gone to the hospital on the Sunday, doctors warned she could have died.
“I was so fortunate that midwife told me to go then,” she explained.
“If I had gone 24 hours later, I could have been in the ICU and it could have been a different story.”
Since then, Aimee has been able to recover and enjoy being a mum to her firstborn.
She also plans to work with mastitis charities in the future to spread awareness.
The presenter said on Instagram: “We know how underfunded women’s is, but seriously, things have got to change.
“If men produced milk, pushing through the pain of a blocked duct, mastitis etc wouldn’t be a thing.
“If anyone works for/knows charities or companies, let me know as I’d love to touch base once this is all over.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
I'm dedicated to creating high-quality content that informs, inspires, and delights. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch. Happy reading!
